Religion of the Incas - Essay Example

Introduction The Incas had a belief system that was polytheistic. The most important god was their sun god who was also known as Inti. The sun god was believed to an ancestor of the Supa Inca as a direct ancestor and he also was the hereditary ruler of the empire. The Inca people had been referred to as the people of the sun not only because they were worshipping their sun god Inti as their Supreme Being but also because they had a large amount of silver and gold which were being yielded in their land. (Cobo, 1979) Inca had widespread sacred sites in the entire empire and these sites were used by the spiritual leaders in the community for offerings as well as prayers in their communication with their supreme being. The Inca priests lived in some very important shrines which were specially made for the religious leaders. The Inca highly used divination as a form of communicating with the ancestral spirits. There were very many festivals in the Inca calendar most of which were based on their religious grounds. Was their logic to their religious beliefs? I believe that there was no logic in the religious beliefs of the Inca people. This is because the Incas worshipped the ancestors, the dead, their founding cultural heroes, nature and its cycles as well as their king who was regarded as a divine being. There was no logic in their religious beliefs since their worship of nature and also its cycles suggested that for them space and time were very sacred and also their calendar was religious as each month had its own allocated festival. Similarly it was illogical for them to further direct their cult to their sun god Inti who they claimed nourished the earth as well as man with his rays. It was senseless for the Inca people to have a very huge feast dedicated to their sun god and have a ceremony with very splendid costumes together with some gold and silver offerings and decorations. There was no logic because the whole ceremony was being performed to a non existent being since there was no evidence of the existence of the sun god. (Cobo 1979) Further more such an expensive occasion as well as the gold and silver offerings given on this occasion was taken by the Incan emperor who was very rich and this was done at the expense of the poor Incan people. Similarly there was no logic in the Incas belief on their god Pachama who was referred as the mother of the earth. On the other hand it did not make any sense in the Incas belief in the notion of polarity which was further expressed in for of the two words hanan and hunin and such polarity was very evident in the cult to the moon. There is no validity that in the religious beliefs of the Incas some of the gods were males while others were females. On the other hand there was no reason to believe that the world was represented in the concentric circles and that each of these worlds was further inhabited by the spiritual beings. Also it does not make any sense in the Incas religious life of divination whereby everything including their illnesses, crime investigations, or even the definition of their sacrifices to their gods was all done by the consultation of the oracles. Similarly this was also done by observing the meandering of a spider in a dish, disposing the cocoa leaves, drinking a hallucinogen as well as the examination of the markings on the lungs of a sacrificed llama and all this does not make any sense at all. On the other hand there lacked good judgment on the Incan religious beliefs and practices since they practiced their daily sacrifices and also offerings to their deities. There was no common sense for the Incas religion to highly advocate on offering the human beings as sacrifices during the troubled festive seasons. (McCormack 1991) Also the belief that once a human being was sacrificed he became god once overtaken by death this is an improper judgment and it not logical in any way. The enthronement of the Inca who was the king saw about two hundred children being killed and it was illogical for the people to consider the natural calamities to be as a result of disobedience to their taboos to carry out such treacherous acts. On the other hand it was unreasonable for the Inca to highly depend on the virtues of the dead people such as the social economic status of the dead person and the kind of death one had. Somehow it did not hold up for the Inca to believe that an individual had two souls and that one soul remained in the body that was mummified and also preserved intact. This irrational belief also led to the Inca to burry their dead with their personal belongings. It was however unsound for the people of Inca to think that it was an honor for a person especially the children to die for an offering. It was also unreasonable for the young girls of exceptional beauty to spend four years in the provincial’s capital brewing chichi as well as weaving the textiles that were being used by the priests and also Inca. (McCormack 1991) Was their religion advanced as compared to the other religions of the civilizations during that time? The religion of the Inca was very advanced as compared to the other religions of the civilizations during the time of the civilization. This is because during this period they worshipped a feline god and they also built many temples which were equipped with several underground chambers that were dedicated to the worship ceremonies. The religious culture of the Incas seemed to have been practicing a ritual of cannibalism and this could be verified with the evidence that was found in their temples. Similarly the Inca worshipped several gods among them were the six major gods who were representing the sun, moon, sea, lighting as well as the earth. Their sun god was the most honored and he was also the most powerful in comparison to the other gods. The worship of the Incan gods constantly took place at the highest peaks that the Inca people could find since such places were regarded as holy and sacred by the Incan people. The location of the sun temple was at a place known as the Macchu Picchu which was situated at an altitude of about 8000 feet. Similarly the Inca buried their royal members on the top most point’s of the mountain peaks so that they could be closer to the sun god. Thus the ice atop of the mountains as well as the cold dry air managed to preserve the remains of the dead and also mummify them to this present day. (Morris and Adriana 1993) Source; The world fact book (2006): The history of the Incas retrieved from; http://www.theincas.com/history/.htm, accessed on 4th December 2007 The religious city of Macchu Picchu was built in the middle ages and it was solely used for the religious purposes only. It was however built by the Incan emperor. This religious city was also highly preserved from the outside world especially from the Spanish conquerors who were intending to further erase the Incan culture especially their religious beliefs and also its plundering wealth. The Incan religion was very advanced than the other religions during the time of civilizations. The subjects of the empire were however allowed to worship their ancestral gods so long as they had accepted that their supreme being was Inti their sun god. As a result of this there was integration between the extended families and also the city states into a whole empire so that there would be a continual of their ancestral worship even though this would be at a reduced status. A great deal of the contacts which existed between lower and the upper classes of people was based on the religious grounds. These contacts included some very intricate ceremonies that could even last up to an entire day such as from sunrise to sunset. The main religious festivals of the Incan people was their annual sun celebration when there was a thanksgiving that was given for their crops and similarly some prayers were offered for a better harvest in the subsequent year. Before any major festivities the Incan religion required that all the people fast as well as abstains from any sexual activities. On the other hand the mummies of the dead who were very distinguished were brought to the ceremonies as observers. There were several solemn hymns which were offered during such ceremonies and there were also some ritual kisses that were blown by the Incan people toward their sun god. (Morris and Adriana 1993) The king of this empire was seen as the sun of the sun god and during the religious ceremonies he drank from a ceremonial goblet where the elders also drank after him. The high priest was then allowed to make a sacrifice of a llama where he pulled out the animal’s lungs and the other internal organs with which he could predict the future of the Incan people. The suns heat was also used in lighting a sacred fire where a type of sacred bread was similarly offered. Their religion was advanced because they had built sacred sites which were widespread in the entire Inca Empire. The religious leaders in Inca used their prayers as well as their offerings to communicate with their gods as well as ask for the gods assistance or advice if need be. How did their religion affect their actions and everyday life and the way the women are treated? The religion of the Incas greatly affected the day to day lives of the people and it also affected the treatment that women received from the community in general. The hierarchy of the Inca society was the emperor, the royal family, the upper aristocracy, the administrators, the nobilities, the artisans then the laborers who were the least in the Inca society. For instance most of their religious activities and ceremonies were highly centered on agriculture such as the growing of their agricultural crops as well as the harvesting of their crops. Similarly some of the agricultural crops were such as the cocoa leaves were used as very important tools in the divination processes. The people of Inca raised llamas which were used for their religious ceremonies and sacrifices. (McIntyre 1975) Sometimes the Incas sacrificed their animals or even people to their gods especially their sun god. On the other hand the Incas religion affected the people such that there were a lot of religious sacrifices which were made following certain events such as the death of an emperor or even an earthquake. Similarly the priests who were leading the religious ceremonies in Inca had to act like today’s nuns whereby they even lived in convents which were secluded from the rest of the people. These priests also taught the other people in the Inca how to spin, weave, make their holy bread as well as make the royal clothing. On the other hand they had a lot of gold but it was only valued when it was used in the creation of the ceremonial objects such as the religious jewelers and also containers. The gold was also used in the adornment of the tombs and also the temples. All the people of Inca worked collectively in the lands of the Inca who was serving as a representative of the sun god and who was the Supreme Being in the entire empire. The women of Inca were chosen as priestesses and it was required of them to remain chaste unless they were chosen as concubines or wives to the individuals belonging to the imperial families. The women of Inca were also made in charge of the preparation of chichi which was used in the religious ceremonies and they also wove the textiles which were being used in the cults. The Inca built temples that were modeled on the structures of the main temple which was located in Cusco. The Inca people also had their bodies and faces painted with various designs and the boys had their ears pierced as this was part of their religious ceremonies. The people of Inca similarly made some brightly colored feathers which they got from the jungle birds and they used them in the making of the ceremonial tunics as well as the headdresses for the Inca who were in nobility and for those who performed the religious ceremonies. (McIntyre 1975) According to their culture the people of Inca built their temples as well as their palaces according to the requirements of their religion. Religion also influenced the people of Inca in the way which their fashioned their jewelry as well as their clothing so that they can be useful in their religious purposes or even maintain their religious significance. The religion of Inca influenced the Incan rulers to force their subjects to work as their artisans, farmers as well as builders. These rulers would most of the times move very large groups of people from one place to another so that they can keep them busy. The people of Inca celebrated various holidays and other religious festivities which involved some religious rituals. Many of the celebrations which were held by the people of Inca were religious in nature and they were conducted in honor of their gods. Some of their religious celebrations were in honor of their rulers and chieftains. The recreational activities of the people of Inca were centered along the religious beliefs and activities. In the inch society the women occupied very inferior positions such that they were forbidden to conduct any religious rituals. Similarly the women from the common classes supplied most of the concubines to be used by the religious leaders and they had to be highly trained so that they could become the virgins of the sun. Others became the concubines to the emperor in the workshops of the temples. (The world fact book 2006) Some of the women would be sacrificed and these were considered to be the honored servants of the state. There was a very elaborate ritual life which surrounded the deceased rulers who received special treatment as if they were alive. Conclusion In conclusion the Incas had a belief system that was based on polytheistic and the most important god was their sun god who was also known as Inti. On the other hand their religious beliefs were illogical since they advocated for the offering of the human beings as special sacrifices which were very useful especially when the empire was hit by a calamity such as an earthquake or any other form of disaster. Similarly the Inca religion was very advanced in comparison to the other religions of the civilizations during the time of the civilization. This is because during this period they had a very advanced form of worship whereby they worshipped a feline god and they also built many temples which were equipped with several underground chambers that were dedicated to the worship ceremonies. The Inca religion greatly affected the day to day lives of the people and it also affected the treatment that women received from the community in general in terms of their recreational activities, farming activities, architecture as well as the ruler ship of the spiritual leaders. The women on the other hand were regarded as Reference: Cobo, B. (1979): History of the Inca Empire, translated by Roland Hamilton. Austin, University of Texas Press, McCormack, S. (1991): Religion in the Incas, Vision and Imagination in Early Colonial Peru. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, Morris, C and Adriana V (1993): The Inca Empire and Its Andean Origins. New York, Abbeville Press, McIntyre, L. (1975): The incredible Incas and their timeless land. The National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C The world fact book (2006): The history of the Incas retrieved from; http://www.theincas.com/history/.htm, accessed on 4th December 2007 1. Source 1 is a book from the library called History of the Inca Empire, translated by Roland Hamilton 2. Source 2 is a book from the library called Religion in the Incas, Vision and Imagination in Early Colonial Peru 3. Source 3 is a book from the library called The Inca Empire and Its Andean Origins 4. Source 4 is a book from the library called The incredible Incas and their timeless land 5. Source 5 is an article from the internet called The history of the Incas, retrieved from http://www.theincas.com/history/.htm, on December, 4 2007 Read More